WINNERS: HARRIS KATZ & VITO SCUTERO

CO-CEOS/CO-FOUNDERS, TEKPARTNERS

5810 Coral Ridge Drive, Suite 250, Coral Springs 33076

(954) 656-8600

Education

Katz: Bachelor’s degree in advertising and public relations, University of Central Florida

Scutero: B.B.A. in marketing and accounting, University of Central Florida

Personal notes

Katz: In a past life, he was the “Beef Jerky King,” running a business distributing meat snacks to gas stations and convenience stores throughout Florida and Georgia.

Scutero: He was an all-county high school baseball player and his first job was at 12 years old, delivering Newsday in Massapequa, N.Y.

Talk about timing. Harris Katz and Vito Scutero launched TekPartners in early 2002. The 9/11 attacks were still fresh in people’s minds, as was the dot-com bust. The national and global economies were entering a recession. In the staffing industry, national firms were undergoing mass layoffs of internal talent. Then it happened again with the Great Recession.

Katz and Scutero, though, saw a competitive advantage to being a first mover in the Florida market: to be in a startup during the first recession and in a growth mode during the second.

“The staffing business is not a transactional business, it is a people business,” they say. “Without consistent people in the seats, you cannot be in a position to achieve consistent growth.”

With prices kept low and customers kept happy, the company gained market share over its competition and grew at a 40 to 60 percent pace over the next four years. Such is the tale of savvy, time-tested entrepreneurs, men who strike the perfect balance between risk takers and analytical thinkers. Men who relied on their guts, brains and hearts – taking chances on people or opportunities that come with a high amount of risk and uncertainty.

Thinking of launching your own enterprise? They suggest you develop a core ideology with values or guiding principles; and a core purpose with your most fundamental reason for existence. This will articulate your vision over the long term. Draft a detailed business plan for years one through five. Finally, develop a 10-year BHAG (“big, hairy audacious goal”) that you are deeply passionate about that will drive your envisioned future and economic engine.

“A successful entrepreneur should be striving to achieve Level 5 leadership by channeling their ego needs away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company,” they say. “Our company was started on 100 percent sweat equity. There were no large angel investors or big financial institutions that provided the capital to accelerate growth. Just two guys in their early 30s who made sure they ran a profitable business every year regardless of the economic conditions.”

100 W. Cypress Creek Road, Suite 700, Fort Lauderdale 33309

(954) 491-1120

Education

Personal note

The child of two Holocaust survivors from Poland, he was raised in Montreal and learned to speak English, French, Yiddish and Hebrew while growing up.

When Gerald Greenspoon and Michael Marder co-founded Greenspoon Marder in 1981, the idea was to open a law firm with business-minded attorneys who could provide comprehensive guidance to entrepreneurs like themselves. The traditional law firm model didn’t always suit the needs of entrepreneurs, because legal and business matters are not always exclusive.

The partners grew the firm with discipline and focus. They carefully selected attorneys with knowledge, talent and integrity – and a commitment to client needs. Today, the firm has more than 140 attorneys practicing more than 50 areas of law in 11 offices throughout Florida. That growth was buttressed with the acquisition of the venerable Ruden McClosky through bankruptcy court – a move that doubled the firm’s size.

So it’s no surprise that Greenspoon believes a successful entrepreneur “must not only be a highly driven visionary, but must be nimble in reacting to change in this constantly evolving economic climate,” he says. “A successful entrepreneur must be able to see opportunity in adversity.”

Beyond vision and drive, his traits are much the same today as they were at the start. Integrity is essential, “the rest will follow.” Like so many businesses, relationships can be one of the individual’s and firm’s most important assets – and cross business and personal lives, intertwining “more than you may realize,” he says.

Never be complacent about or comfortable with success. Change is imminent, he says. Always watch for opportunity, the next good idea and adversity. Finally, be thankful.

“Show gratitude to the people who take the time to help you along the way,” he says, “and then, pay it forward.”

FINALIST: Juan Ortiz

CEO, Navarro Discount Pharmacy

9400 N.W. 104th St., Medley 33178

Education

Personal note

“My first job was working at Disney World,” he says. “I was part of the opening crew at the Universe of Energy when Disney opened Epcot in the early 1980s.”

Juan Ortiz has some fairly keen thoughts about what it takes to be an entrepreneur. He believes they are resilient and born with the drive to be successful. The CPA believes they work hard, learn and are motivated by their mistakes. And they thrive in a competitive marketplace and a work environment surrounded by like-minded peers driven to turn ideas into successes – while always keeping the customer’s need in mind.

“At Navarro Discount Pharmacy, we are lucky that the entire leadership team is entrepreneurial,” he says. “We are not afraid to try new things. We move quickly and make things happen.”

Ortiz, who was born in the Philippines and moved to Orlando in 1980, believes that customer focus, the setting of high goals, fostering an esprit de corps across the workplace, “planning your work and working your plan” and “laying out an effective game plan” are crucial.

Throughout his career, Ortiz has been inspired by others successful in their pursuits, whether business or life. He could even point to himself. Starting his career as a staff accountant with Deloitte & Touche, he eventually rose the ranks and worked with top-tier clients.

He was named Navarro’s CFO in August 2008 – he previously had been CEO of Atlantic Dental – a month before the recession hit. Over the next 24 months, he worked side by side with other members of the company’s management team to restructure operations. With the new owners, his team helped to stabilize sales and customer traffic, reduce operating expenses and recapitalize the company.

President/CEO, Stonegate Bank

1430 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale 33304

(954) 315-5510

Education

Personal note

“I have never had a business or accounting class in my life,” he says. “My goal out of high school was to be a history professor.”

If someone were looking for a challenge in life, being the CEO of a bank during the recession certainly would have qualified. Dave Seleski lived that challenge, and now holds that experience as a great accomplishment.

Not only did the bank make it through, but it stayed profitable during the entire period – and grew, he says. Today, its loan portfolio is close to $700 million. And he’s proud of the bank’s customer base – the people he tries to meet when possible and from whom he gets some of his best ideas. The lessons learned and the loans he’s provided them “hopefully helped the local business community and led to more jobs and opportunities for everyone.”

A longtime banker, Seleski was previously president/CEO of the Southeast Florida division of Florida Bank, N.A., until its July 2004 sale to The South Financial Group. Before that, he served as regional manager of private banking for Southeast Florida with SouthTrust, where he started the private banking division. He’s also worked with Compass Bank, Enterprise National Bank and Southeast Bank.

How did Seleski succeed? Maybe the better question is: How did his team succeed? From the beginning, he surrounded himself with people that executed his plan or dream. And, as he would advise others, he continues to take every opportunity to learn, keep an open mind and never be fooled by “get-rich-quick schemes.” Moreover, be disciplined, believe in your business model and hire smart people who will speak their minds. Finally, study hard, he says, for entrepreneurship is a learned calling.

“Otherwise, why does the U.S. create so many entrepreneurs compared to the rest of the world?” he asks. “Education and a government with a ‘pro-business’ attitude are critical to creating the atmosphere that is conducive to inculcating the entrepreneurial attitude.”